Pes Varus: A Compilation
My Experience with Pes Varus, Photos, Definitions, Links
* Additional information will be gratefully accepted
My Experience with Pes Varus
by Patricia Nance
In 2010 I had a new and difficult experience. A good young bitch that I bred and owned - the only young bitch that I owned - developed Pes Varus.
Ironically, the rear conformation of this dog was one of the things I liked most about her when she was a young puppy. But in January, when she was about five months old, I began to notice something different with her hind legs, especially the right hind. They began to look a bit different. A hair crooked. I did not know what I was seeing. I thought it was minor and that she would grow out of it. So I waited for months but it only became much more evident that there was some kind of a problem.
Having never seen anything like it in my dogs, I researched and read what little I could find about hock deformities. The first information I found was about Pes Varus in foals. Then I read about Pes Varus in human babies. I found mention of it on a site for dandie dinmont terriers. And finally, I found more than I really wanted to know about Pes Varus in dachshunds.
The disorder varies between species. In horses and humans, Pes Varus is commonly called "club foot", it affects newborns, it may involve one or more legs, it is related to musculature, and it is correctable by methods other than surgery.
In dogs, it is also known as Angular Hock Deformity, it develops as the tibial growth plates start to close at about five months of age, it is usually bilateral, it is bone related, and it is not correctable except by surgery which may be done in severe cases.
Here is a diagram showing the tibia and tarsus or hock.
http://www.infovisual.info/02/070_en.html
The degree of severity of Pes Varus varies. As mentioned, severe cases may require surgical correction. In my limited understanding, though, many if not most dogs with the deformity do very well. Meaning, they evidence no pain and no real limitations in their ability to get around.
Arthritis in the affected joints may be an issue as the dog gets older, and some lack of stamina may also become evident as the dog ages. This makes sense because if some parts of the skeleton aren't functioning properly, other parts must compensate.
Pes Varus most likely is a genetic disorder. It is presently thought to be an autosomal recessive meaning that two copies of the abnormal gene must be inherited for the trait to develop, one from each parent.
Fortunately, my youngster did not develop severe deformity. She ran and zoomed with more energy, speed, and sheer joy than most puppies I have had. I never saw her take a halting step or act as though movement was uncomfortable. I will add that the problem is greater in her right leg than in the left, which seems to be true in other cases I am aware of.
The Pes Varus diagnosis became 'official' when she was seen by a veterinary orthopedic specialist in August, 2010. In November, my pick of the litter, the bitch I'd waited for for six years, went to her new home. She will not be bred.
Since this experience, I've realized that I have seen Pes Varus in dachshunds before but did not know what it was. Nearly a lifetime in the breed and I did not know what Pes Varus was!
Also since then, I have seen Pes Varus in two other dachshunds, both longhairs. (Maybe because longhairs are the only dachshunds I look at?!). One was a standard black/tan male of European bloodlines, and the other a miniature red female of American breeding. In addition, I received photos of Pes Varus in a standard longhaired bitch [see photos below], and have heard of it in a female standard wire puppy in whose bloodlines, too, the disorder was not known.
Does it only seem so because it is new to me, or is Pes Varus becoming more common in our breed?
By the way, that American-bred miniature longhaired bitch with Pes Varus was awarded Reserve Winners in a major entry. She appeared to be an otherwise excellent little bitch BUT...
Dachshund breeders, exhibitors, and judges need to know about Pes Varus.
Fortunately, my youngster did not develop severe deformity. She ran and zoomed with more energy, speed, and sheer joy than most puppies I have had. I never saw her take a halting step or act as though movement was uncomfortable. I will add that the problem is greater in her right leg than in the left, which seems to be true in other cases I am aware of.
The Pes Varus diagnosis became 'official' when she was seen by a veterinary orthopedic specialist in August, 2010. In November, my pick of the litter, the bitch I'd waited for for six years, went to her new home. She will not be bred.
Since this experience, I've realized that I have seen Pes Varus in dachshunds before but did not know what it was. Nearly a lifetime in the breed and I did not know what Pes Varus was!
Also since then, I have seen Pes Varus in two other dachshunds, both longhairs. (Maybe because longhairs are the only dachshunds I look at?!). One was a standard black/tan male of European bloodlines, and the other a miniature red female of American breeding. In addition, I received photos of Pes Varus in a standard longhaired bitch [see photos below], and have heard of it in a female standard wire puppy in whose bloodlines, too, the disorder was not known.
Does it only seem so because it is new to me, or is Pes Varus becoming more common in our breed?
By the way, that American-bred miniature longhaired bitch with Pes Varus was awarded Reserve Winners in a major entry. She appeared to be an otherwise excellent little bitch BUT...
Dachshund breeders, exhibitors, and judges need to know about Pes Varus.
This is what Pes Varus looks like
These photos are courtesy of Tia Eskelinen, Kennel Cadium in Finland. Mrs. Eskelinen displayed great initiative and no small talent in assembling the images. Many thanks to her, I have something more to offer people who ask about Pes Varus. When I researched the subject, I found nothing like them.
Definitions
"Pes Verus is a distal tibia deformity described in dachshunds and associated with asymmetric closure of the distal physis."
"Pes varus is a distal tibial deformity seen in Dachshunds. With this condition there is shortening of the medial tibia with maximum curve and rotation at the distal metaphysis."
A seven page article was given to me by the orthopedic vet who saw my young bitch, "Corrective Osteotomy for Pes Varus in the Dachshund." (This article is available online for a fee.)
Page 1 of the article states:
In Europe, varus deformity of the tibia caused by asymmetric closure of the distal tibial physis was described in nine dachshunds. The clinical findings in 11 other dachshunds with distal varus deformity of the tibia and the surgical correction of five also have been reported.
Page 5:
The clinical similarity of these cases led us to believe that the condition was a syndrome unique to the dachshunds. Further evidence of an original disorder was provided by the anamnestic similarity between our dogs and those reported in German literature. The term metaphyseal dysplasia has been used to describe the deformity in juvenile dachshunds. A genetic etiology was suggested because littermates were affected. An autosomal recessive mode of inheritance was proposed, corresponding to an analogous syndrome reported in humans. Common third generation ancestors between dog 5 and dogs 2 and 3 supported the possibility of a genetic etiology. However, a more extensive evaluation of the ancestry and breeding trials are needed to confirm these suspicions. Another author believed a traumatic injury to the physis produced asynchronous growth of the distal tibia. In our cases, however, there was no history of trauma. Thus, we chose the name pes varus as a descriptive term that can be applied to the syndrome without implying etiology.
"Pes Verus is a distal tibia deformity described in dachshunds and associated with asymmetric closure of the distal physis."
"Pes varus is a distal tibial deformity seen in Dachshunds. With this condition there is shortening of the medial tibia with maximum curve and rotation at the distal metaphysis."
A seven page article was given to me by the orthopedic vet who saw my young bitch, "Corrective Osteotomy for Pes Varus in the Dachshund." (This article is available online for a fee.)
Page 1 of the article states:
In Europe, varus deformity of the tibia caused by asymmetric closure of the distal tibial physis was described in nine dachshunds. The clinical findings in 11 other dachshunds with distal varus deformity of the tibia and the surgical correction of five also have been reported.
Page 5:
The clinical similarity of these cases led us to believe that the condition was a syndrome unique to the dachshunds. Further evidence of an original disorder was provided by the anamnestic similarity between our dogs and those reported in German literature. The term metaphyseal dysplasia has been used to describe the deformity in juvenile dachshunds. A genetic etiology was suggested because littermates were affected. An autosomal recessive mode of inheritance was proposed, corresponding to an analogous syndrome reported in humans. Common third generation ancestors between dog 5 and dogs 2 and 3 supported the possibility of a genetic etiology. However, a more extensive evaluation of the ancestry and breeding trials are needed to confirm these suspicions. Another author believed a traumatic injury to the physis produced asynchronous growth of the distal tibia. In our cases, however, there was no history of trauma. Thus, we chose the name pes varus as a descriptive term that can be applied to the syndrome without implying etiology.
Links
- http://www.dawsholm.dandie-dinmont.com/orthopeadic.htm (bottom of page)
- http://www.thedachshundhaven.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2884&highlight=pes+varus
- http://books.google.com/books?id=LP9E_F7BTnYC&pg=PA270&lpg=PA270&dq=pes+varus+in+the+dachshund&source=bl&ots=l-SMPvg-VE&sig=jP4OLRfGaGaG0Zkry2ekBy_eGBY&hl=en&ei=mv-lTOfSOY6asAPb58H9Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=pes%20varus%20in%20the%20dachshund&f=false
- http://www.eridox.com/tsl/viewtopic.php?t=109&sid=9fcacc14e7151704c9752abdf8a2d677
- http://www.lepetithotel.co.nz/2010/04/dachshund-scottish-terrier-tibial-torsion/
- http://books.google.com/books?id=4uBR0CqxWnMC&pg=PA72&lpg=PA72&dq=pes+varus+in+the+dachshund&source=bl&ots=j9msf47ncX&sig=A6NrHcvi9vxz5BSN9gRQGA8ZL_k&hl=en&ei=PwKmTMb5GIKosAOp-IX-Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CC0Q6AEwBzge#v=onepage&q&f=false
- http://www.dokhyi-bhairubshakti.nl/Breed%20Predispositions%20to%20Disease%20in%20Dogs%20&%20Cats.pdf (page 60)
- http://pets.dir.groups.yahoo.com/group/Dachsie_World/message/116531
- http://wvc.omnibooksonline.com/data/papers/2010_T41.pdf (page 3)
- http://journals.lww.com/corr/Abstract/1994/05000/Torsion_in_Quadrupeds_and_Its_Impact_on_Mammalian.3.aspx
- http://www.ivis.org/special_books/ortho/chapter_57/ivis.pdf (page 7 under METAPHYSEAL DYSPLASIA)
- http://www.thedachshundhaven.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=89&t=2884&